“ap 
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO 
 
 HIS EXCELLENCY 
 
 
 
 THE EARL OF CLARENDON, K.G. 
 
 LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 COMPLETION OF THE WORKS 
 
 IN CONNEXION WITH THE IMPROVEMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE RIVER SHANNON. 
 
 BY CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS, ESQ. 
 
 DUBLIN : 
 
 cee PRINTED BY WILLIAM UNDERWOOD, EDEN-QUAY. 
 
 1849. 
 
RAILWAY EXTENSION TO CORK. 
 
 
 
 Extract from a Speech of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant. 
 
 
 
 On the 18th October 1849, at the celebration of the opening of the 
 extensive line of the Great Southern Western Railway to Cork, His 
 Excellency the Lord Lieutenant arose, and amidst the most enthusi- 
 astic acclamation observed, ‘‘ That it was with no ordinary feelings of 
 
 gratification he had heard his name associated with the welfare of 
 Ireland, and had witnessed the manner in which the toast had been 
 received by such an assemblage.—The chairman had connected his 
 name with a subject which had long and anxiously occupied his 
 thoughts, and which, no matter whether he should be in a public or 
 private station, should still engage his unremitting solicitude. It was 
 with such feelings as these that he had accepted, with alacrity, the 
 invitation of the chairman and Board of Directors to witness the 
 opening of their railway, because he considered that undertaking as 
 one of paramount importance in relation to the future prosperity of 
 this country. ‘They had all that day an opportunity of witnessing 
 the splendour of the works—the magnificent viaducts—the noble 
 arches—the cuttings and embankments, all finished in the most 
 complete and permanent manner. Their chairman, he observed, had 
 alluded in graceful terms to the loan sanctioned by the Government 
 to promote the completion of this railway; and it was his belief, but 
 for that well-timed loan, that they could not now reach Cork by 
 railway. If they looked back to the period when his noble friend 
 at the head of the Government, with prudent foresight, consented 
 to advance that money, they would find that it was in atime of such 
 pecuniary difficulty that companies even of the highest standing 
 were unable to procure advances upon almost any terms. No doubt, 
 some inconvenience might have been felt by the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer from a loan at such a time; and they were bound to feel 
 grateful for the consideration and foresight of his noble friend in 
 providing assistance, at such a crisis, to enable the company to 
 facilitate their works, to give extensive employment when the necessities of 
 the labouring classes so much required it, and thus to hasten the comple- 
 tion of a great line of railway which must prove of incalculable service, 
 in providing for the farmer a ready market for the sale of his produce. 
 Allusion had been made by the chairman to his (the Lord Lieu- 
 tenant’s) previous visits to this railway, and that to Dundrum 
 especially he well recollected, because he had there availed himself of 
 the opportunity of speaking upon a subject which still filled his 
 mind—he meant the vast importance of railways in affording facilities 
 Jor extending improved modes of husbandry—in opening the best and 
 readiest markets for the sale of agricultural produce. They could not 
 over-estimate the advantages to the farmer which must be conferred by 
 this railway, connecting Dublin, Limerick, and Cork, and the intermediate 
 districts, in one chain of communication. Considerations like these had 
 influenced his noble friend at the head of the Government when he had 
 determined to aid this company by an advance of money. When this 
 railway, at a period of unexampled depression, yielded such a traffic 
 as that now in progress, what extent of increase might they not 
 expect in better times, when the country assumed its normal con- 
 dition and its vast resources should be amply developed by the efforts 
 of agricultural improvement now becoming so general, facilitated as 
 they would be by the completion of railway communication from one 
 extremity of Ireland to the other. Jf ever a railway deserved success 
 t¢ was this—finished in so splendid and permanent a manner, that the 
 works will serve to immortalize the name of the engineer, and the 
 persevering enterprize of the contractor.” 
 
WUT 2. 
 
 TO HIS EXCELLENCY 
 
 THE EARL OF CLARENDON, K.G. 
 
 
 
 My Lorp, 
 
 Ir is impossible to read your Lordship’s speech on the 
 completion of the Railway connecting the three cities of 
 Dublin, Limerick, and Cork, and of which the annexed is an 
 extract, without admitting its justness and appropriate bearing. 
 The perusal of that speech at once suggested the present 
 appeal in favor of an object to which your Lordship’s forcible 
 reasoning and comments are peculiarly applicable. Ido not 
 solicit your Lordship’s attention in favor of any object of private 
 speculation or of minor character, but of one that is unquestion- 
 ably the most important and extensive line of intercourse in 
 Ireland. One which has been called into existence by the 
 liberality and wisdom of parliament, with the co-operation of 
 Her Majesty’s ministers, and by the expenditure of above 
 half a million sterling; I allude to the river Shannon, and in 
 reference to its capabilities in a commercial, agricultural, and 
 social point. of view—with its two hundred miles of inland 
 navigation—its connexion with no less than ten counties, and 
 a population of above a million of inhabitants within reach of 
 its influence. : 
 
 I will here briefly state the circumstances of this river and 
 its navigable character, with its power of promoting the most 
 essential element of improvement, rapid and cheap intercourse. 
 
 In the year 1831, I addressed a letter to the Right Honor- 
 able Thomas Spring Rice, (now Lord Monteagle,) on the then 
 neglected state of the river Shannon, and the great capabilities 
 it possessed. I pointed out the useless and even mischievous 
 
 mIYOOD 
 
 bb ded: 365 
 
4 
 
 influence it exercised, not only as being unavailable for the 
 purpose of trading or social intercourse, but as a positive 
 obstacle to the free interchange of commodities over three- 
 fourths of its extent; while the absence of all control or regu- 
 lating power over its waters, produced an extent of inundation 
 greater than the aggregate of all the inundations of all the 
 rivers in the British Islands. Inundations, not mischievous 
 alone from their extent, but the six or seven months of the year 
 during which they continued. 
 
 Subsequently, in the year 1835, I addressed a letter to the 
 Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, when the consideration of this 
 subject was before parliament, shewing, that while a million 
 sterling had been expended on one hundred and thirty miles of 
 Canada navigation, called the Rideau canal and Ottawa 
 river, and which was made navigable by British means, and 
 by the hands and labor of Irishmen, chiefly from the banks of 
 this very Shannon, yet that not a shilling had been expended 
 in aid of the capabilities of the great home inland navigation 
 of Ireland, although nearly double in extent. I proved from 
 parliamentary documents, that that great expenditure had been 
 made in a district of Upper Canada, which did not contain one 
 thousand inhabitants; while our own great home Ottawa—“ the 
 Shannon,” was in sight of above a million of inhabitants, all 
 crying out for improved intercourse, as the means of pro- 
 ducing employment for the population, and enabling them to 
 convey their produce to market from its shores of nearly five 
 hundred miles in extent. 
 
 I have reason, my Lord, to think that thus directing the 
 attention of the Government to these important facts, was in- 
 strumental in producing the Act of 5th & 6th of William the 
 IV., and of the subsequent Act of the 2nd & 3rd of Her 
 present Majesty, entituled, “An Act for the improvement of the 
 river Shannon.” 
 
 Under this latter act, the munificent sum of £584,897 was 
 authorised to be advanced from the public funds, towards the 
 improving the course of this great river, and rendering it 
 navigable over a course of above two hundred miles—one 
 
5 
 
 hundred and forty of which are above the tide-way at Limerick, 
 and running through the very centre of Ireland. 
 
 This act recites that, “ The improvement of the navigation 
 of the said river, from its source in Lough Allen, to its mouth, 
 would contribute to the general prosperity, commerce, agricul- 
 ture, and revenue of Ireland: as also tend to the advantage and 
 improvement of the respective counties, and districts adjoining.” 
 
 My Lord, I believe that recital to be a correct anticipation 
 of the future influence of this great river navigation. My 
 present object is, the obtaining your Lordship’s aid and in- 
 fluence in effecting its consummation. 
 
 My Lord, I have now the satisfaction of stating, that the 
 sum of half a million sterling having been expended pursuant 
 to the act, its navigation is now completed ; and from personal 
 observation, having during the last five years watched the pro- 
 gress of the numerous works along its course, I am enabled to 
 certify, that the science and engineering skill which they 
 exhibit—the evidence of a superior execution every where 
 visible—together with the substantial and permanent character 
 of these great works, are unsurpassed in the British empire. 
 
 Applying your Lordship’s appropriate words in favor of the 
 Railway, to the great improvement of the Shannon, I add, 
 “if ever work demanded success it was this—finished in so 
 splendid and permanent a manner; these works will serve to 
 immortalize,’ not, my Lord, “the engineer” or the directing 
 body alone, but the Government which planned, and with per- 
 severing zeal, and despite the outcry of the would-be economists, 
 
 carried out that great enterprize which has since converted a 
 
 wide waste of waters, in some districts unmanageable from their 
 turbulence, and in others, from their extent of sluggish inun- 
 dation, into an available source of intercourse among the 
 numerous towns and inhabitants along its course. 
 
 In carrying out these great works, difficulties of no ordinary 
 
 _character were to be encountered. Energy, skill, and perseve- 
 
 rance, were all requisite, both on the part of Government and 
 the Commissioners. 
 My Lord, it is impossible correctly to appreciate the character 
 
6 
 
 extent, or importance of these numerous and great works, 
 except by traversing the one hundred and fifty miles of the 
 Shannon, along which they are spread, and comparing, by the 
 aid of maps, plans, and sections, its previous uncontrolled 
 character, with its present improved and subdued condition— 
 by examining the recently erected noble bridges which now 
 span this river; the capacious locks, and moveable iron road- 
 ways by which large steam vessels are enabled to pass; and 
 above all, their permanent and almost imperishable character. 
 The effect of the great weirs should also be duly considered. 
 By these, the hitherto irregular and broken workings of this 
 great stream, through tens of thousands of acres, and along miles 
 of windings, have been so brought under subjection, that the 
 whole has become an easy course of river navigation. 
 
 It is true, the picturesque and numerous falls and rapids 
 have been lost or removed—but only to give way to the quiet 
 and useful level which navigation demands. What the eye of 
 the artist may lament, will be compensated to the philantropist 
 and statesman, when they find in their place the elements of 
 social order and domestic industry. ‘The man of taste may re- 
 gret the absence of those charms which the rushing and broken 
 stream, and the murmurings of its falling waters, ever give to 
 such river scenery: but the man of business will rejoice in 
 anticipating a happy future, when hereafter he contemplates the 
 bustle of trade succeeding to those sources of enjoyment which 
 gave pleasure to the artist or the angler alone: while the bless- 
 ings of industry and useful employment, which commercial and 
 agricultural advancement ever bring in their train, will have a 
 wholesome influence, where the monotony of silence, with its 
 distr ssing and almost desolating accompaniments, had hitherto 
 prevailed. 
 
 Without personal observation, who can appreciate the en- 
 ginecring difficulties of turning the course of this great river 
 in the numerous places where its bed was to be lowered or 
 levelled—the labour of keeping it in a dry and working con- 
 dition by the aid of steam power and costly dams—the deepen- 
 ing and widening its course for the passage of large vessels, 
 
7 
 
 with the labour and expense of removing the solid rocky 
 obstructions of this extraordinary river. 
 
 Without personal observation, none can appreciate the nu- 
 merous and extensive improvements effected along these hundred 
 and fifty miles of water, nor can they form an adequate idea of 
 what had to be encountered—seeing that hitherto, there was no 
 precedent of a work of such magnitude, or of this peculiar 
 character. 
 
 The river banks, on which the excavated matter now lies 
 heaped, will ever remain a lasting memorial of the great quan- 
 tity of materials that had been removed from its bed: while the 
 great mass of water which now placidly flows along, illustrates 
 at once the difficulty and the effect of such deepening. 
 
 Let it also be remembered that this has been effected not only 
 completely and successfully, but within the estimated cost. 
 Here indeed is a new feature in public works. Look to the 
 Rideau navigation in Canada, or to the Caledonian canal in 
 Scotland. What a contrast do they present in this respect. 
 
 Whatever mistakes may have been made in the early stages 
 of these works were referable to the difficulty of calculating the 
 results of the new levels of the river, and the effects to be pro- 
 duced by these large masses of water, subject as they were to 
 such flooding as occasionally to raise the levels to the height of 
 many feet. When such an enormous power was to be cor- 
 trolled and regulated, these will not be considered extraordinary 
 by professional men. Looking however to the fact that there 
 was no known precedent for works of this description or mag- 
 nitude, it may in truth be said, that never were engineering 
 operations carried on, whether as regards their extent—the 
 great objects they embraced—or the large expenditure they in- 
 volved, in which so few mistakes, or so little unnecessary 
 expenditure had been made. 
 
 Here I might stop to complain of the apathy of the many 
 counties along its shores, which threw on the government the 
 task of providing funds for what was so peculiarly within the 
 province of their respective grand juries, namely—the removal 
 of those narrow and antiquated bridges which had hitherto 
 
8 
 
 been so instrumental, not in facilitating, but in obstructing 
 intercourse. 
 
 I may name the new and noble bridge of Athlone, connect- 
 ing Roscommon and Westmeath—that at Portumna, between 
 Galway and Tipperary—at Lanesborough, between Roscommon 
 and Longford—at Carrick-on-Shannon, between Roscommon 
 and Leitrim—at Banagher, between Galway and King’s County 
 —at Ruskey, between Roscommon and Leitrim—at Jamestown, 
 between the same counties—those at Cootehall and Knockvicar, 
 with that which crosses the Carnadoe waters, opening a new 
 navigation of over ten miles in extent, to Strokestown. Yet 
 these noble structures, costing above £100,000, have been thrown 
 on the fund provided for improving the navigation of the river. 
 To complete the navigable character of the Shannon and give 
 free vent to its mass of waters, those old fashioned and obstruc- 
 tive passes had to be removed, while the new bridges which 
 now span the river, were to be provided with the improved 
 swivel arches, by which alone steam and masted vessels could 
 pass. Besides these nine new and noble bridges may be men- 
 tioned the several locks, each in connexion with its great 
 regulating weir across the river, viz. the Victoria lock 
 near Banagher, the great locks at Athlone, Tarmonbary, and 
 Ruskey ; the Albert lock at Jamestown, and the Clarendon on 
 the Boyle water. These locks and weirs, from their superior 
 engineering character and execution, are well worthy the 
 examination of professional men. Those works are now com- 
 pleted to the credit of the Commissioners and their able staff 
 of Engineers,* and the satisfaction of Government. I may 
 here add, that they are in a great measure due to the exertions 
 of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Monteagle, 
 through whose instrumentality this measure was carried 
 through parliament. JI have watched with anxious interest the 
 
 * Major General Sir John Fox Burgoyne, R.E., Lieut. Colonel Harry D. 
 Jones, R.E., Richard Griffith, Esq., L.L.D., C.E., and W. T. Mulvany, 
 Esq., C. E., Commissioners. Thomas Rhodes, Esq., Engineer in chief, 
 Messrs. John Long, Charles Ottley, Henry Renton, Thomas Barton, Thomas 
 J, Mulvany, and Lionel Gisborne, resident Engineers. 
 
a 
 
 progress of these works. I have given them the more attention, 
 seeing that both the Commissioners and their works were sub- 
 jected to severe, and even illiberal criticism during the course 
 of their execution, by those who had never visited them, 
 and were even wholly ignorant of their nature, extent, or 
 operation. In the public prints, and even in Parliament, 
 this useful, all-important undertaking, which should at least 
 have commanded respect, has been spoken of slightingly, 
 and, I will. say, irreverently.. It has been made the topic of 
 vituperation and abuse, and characterised as a wasteful expen- 
 diture, and even as an unworthy job. Yet if ever there was a 
 work to which this discreditable epithet was not applicable, it 
 was this great improvement of the Shannon—embracing so 
 directly the important objects of navigation and drainage. The 
 Commissioners appear to have refrained from public contro- 
 versy. They must have been conscious that their cause would 
 bear the test of examination and time—that its value, and the 
 excellence of its execution would one day be admitted by all— 
 and that these great works would hereafter best speak their own 
 praise. They have achieved what more than volumes of argu- 
 ments could illustrate, or do justice to. Let the sceptic go and 
 judge for himself. 
 
 I have now, my Lord, to record, and be it remembered, that 
 on the eleventh of October, 1849, a steam vessel, conveying a 
 number of scientific gentlemen, several of whom were officially 
 connected with the great midland Railway, which is to cross the 
 Shannon at Athlone, passed from Killaloe to the extremity of 
 Lough Key and near to Lough Allen, in the county of Leitrim. 
 That in its course they passed by or near to the towns or 
 Portumna, Banagher, Shannon Bridge, Athlone, Lanesborough, 
 Longford, Tarmonbary, Newtownforbes, Ruskey, Drumsna, 
 Jamestown, Carrick-on-Shannon, and Leitrim; and to within 
 a short distance of the town of Boyle: thus steaming a 
 continuous course of one hundred and forty miles in fresh water, 
 above the tide-way at Limerick. That in that course they 
 passed through no fewer than eight counties—coasting, as it 
 
 were, along thirty-one miles of Tipperary—eleven miles of 
 B 
 
10 
 
 Clare—thirty-eight miles of Galway—nineteen miles of King’s- 
 County—twenty miles of Longford—twenty-four miles of Lei- 
 trim—and above eighty miles of Roscommon: in all, a coasting 
 voyage of two hundred and fifty miles—every mile of which 
 has now the benefit of cheap and easy navigation. 
 
 My Lord, this may truly be said to be a great work. It is 
 impossible to resist the hope of an influence similar to that 
 which your Lordship has ascribed to a far less extent of Rail- 
 way, namely, “ the affording facilities for extending improved 
 modes of husbandry, and opening the best and readiest markets 
 for the sale of agricultural produce, and giving extensive em- 
 ployment where the necessities of the labouring population so 
 much require it.” 
 
 By the operation of such means, may we not anticipate, that 
 the value of the land and its produce will be increased—the 
 sources of employment multiplied —and the condition of the 
 population ameliorated and raised. ‘These elements of success- 
 ful industry will be put in action by the means which this great 
 highway of waters will hereafter afford.* 
 
 Again, as your Lordship observed, “‘ what extent of increase 
 may not hereafter be expected in better times, when these 
 vast resources shall be more amply developed by that improve- 
 ment in agriculture now becoming so general ?” 
 
 * The important consideration of drainage, should not here be overlooked, 
 inasmuch as the improvements of the Shannon, and the regulating its waters 
 by the several great weirs, have afforded the means of carrying into effect 
 this object. 
 
 Above Athlone, the Commissioners have kept the flood level of the river 
 below that of the extensive tracts of callow lands, which hitherto had been 
 almost useless—cereal and green crops have now replaced the coarse and 
 sour herbage which covered these callows. Below Athlone, the duration of 
 the floods has been greatly diminished. The lowering and regniating the 
 levels of the waters have enabled the legislature to assist proprietors in draining 
 large tracts of valuable land through the enlargement and regulation of their 
 main water-courses and adjacent tributaries—the waters of which were in- 
 fluenced by the levels of the main stream. These exits of the drainage water 
 were witnessed in many directions, during the steamer’s course up the river, 
 Independently of the Shannon being now the largest inland navigation in 
 Great Britain, it is also the greatest recipient of arterial drainage in Ireland. 
 
 Had the Shannon remained as it had been, what a bar to improvement would 
 it have for ever presented, 
 
1] 
 
 If these remarks are applicable to the changes and ameliora- 
 tion which raz/ways will effect, how much more forcibly do 
 they apply to this great extent of cheap water communication, 
 and the aid of steam thus afforded to every harbour and inlet 
 along its extended course. JI will here add in the impressive 
 
 words of oH Lordship, joining most cordially in the sentiment 
 
 expressed, ‘/fever a work deserved success, it was this ”—the 
 impro ae navigation of the Shannon, and its tribctazies; 
 
 each county along its shores adding to the aggregate of human 
 industry and employment, and reciprocating those blessings 
 which the hand of nature had placed within reach, requiring 
 but the hand of man for their realization. 
 
 Created and fostered by Her Majesty’s Government 
 out by public resources, (provided during years of unexampled 
 pressure) and brought to a consummation under your Lordship’s 
 sway, these great works are destined to open this navigation to 
 the influence of that natural momentum which is the result of 
 private industry and commercial enterprize, supplying to every 
 man the means of leaped his own social position, and thus 
 encreasing the aggregate of national wealth, power, and pros- 
 
 carried 
 
 
 
 perity. 
 
 Already large steam-vessels, and an improved description of 
 barges, equal to what may be seen on the Thames or the 
 Mersey, now pass freely along its course. Steam-vessels of 
 one hundred horse power daily pass as high as the garrison 
 town of Athlone—the centre town of Ireland, and seventy- 
 five miles above Limerick. Preparations are making to 
 extend that intercourse to Carrick-on-Shannon and Boyle, fifty 
 miles higher up, into the county of Leitrim, where a 
 steam-vessel had not before been seen, nor craft of any kind 
 had floated, beyond the wretched ill-appointed turf cot, or 
 the sailing yacht of some neighbouring amateur, whose enjoy- 
 ment of the interesting scenery of the numerous lakes and 
 reaches of this river had, like that of the sclitary and stately 
 swan which the steamer passed in its course, been doomed to a 
 reluctant and unsocial seclusion, while his graceful craft was 
 
 spreading its winzs to the breeze—unseen and unadmired. 
 
12 
 
 Your Lordship has aptly observed that “it was impossible 
 to over-estimate the advantages which must be conferred 
 by the railway connecting Dublin, Limerick, Cork, and the 
 intermediate districts, in one chain of communication.” This 
 is unquestionably true ; but how much more applicable when 
 taken in connexion with what I have described—this inter- 
 mediate line of steam navigation, connecting, as it does the 
 two great lines of railway. It is important also to observe that 
 along the line of this navigation, no railway ever can exist, nor 
 can there be any other connexion or means of intercourse be- 
 tween the termini of the two Railways, at Athlone, and at Li- 
 merick, (a distance of seventy-four miles) than this water line. 
 
 This river line of steam intercourse therefore imparts a 
 double value to both the South Western and Midland Railways; 
 the former of which has so lately received a merited eulogium 
 from your Lordship, while the latter, now in progress through 
 the especial aid of Her Majesty’s government, will shortly I 
 doubt not, have an equal claim on your Lordship. 
 
 Without depreciating the value of Railway communication, 
 there can be no question as to the superior usefulness of river 
 intercourse, especially through an agricultural country. Except 
 from station to station, a railway from its peculiarities becomes 
 a positive barrier, and is wholly unavailable, as a river, road, 
 or canal would be, for local or domestic intercourse. In fact it 
 keeps even any neighbouring districts and families more apart 
 than before. 
 
 The Shannon, on the contrary, enables, and even invites 
 every individual within reach of its waters from the highest 
 to the lowest, to apply his industry and render his efforts avail- 
 able for the common good, and for his own and his neighbour’s 
 benefit, whatever may be his occupation, or the extent of his 
 means and business. The peasant who merely cuts his turf for 
 fuel, is enabled to bring his labour to market and to a profitable 
 account, supplying those districts where fuel is deficient. The 
 farmer who feeds his swine—collects his crates of eggs, and 
 poultry for the town market—or raises produce, for his own 
 or the adjoining districts, or for exportation, is enabled, and in 
 
13 
 
 person, to reach the best markets and realize the best prices, 
 with but little expense or loss of time; while the large land- 
 holder and extensive grazier will be enabled to send to the 
 metropolis or to the English markets, and on the most advan- 
 tageous terms, their produce, and their live stock. All will 
 be alike aided and benefitted by cheap and extensive water 
 carriage: while hitherto, all were equally in want of this de- 
 sideratum, the main element of agricultural prosperity and pro- 
 fitable employment.* 
 
 *Extract from the Letter published in 1831, already referred to. 
 
 “The following summary of the state of Ireland, will be found to com- 
 prise the leading features of the case. 
 
 1.—The population want employment. 
 
 2.—That employment can only be supplied by the pursuits of agriculture, 
 internal trade, commerce, and manufactures. 
 
 3.—These cannot be promoted without the means of intercourse and 
 interchange, and adequate facilities of transport. 
 
 4,.—Those latter do not exist in Ireland. 
 
 It may be laid down as an indisputable point, and it applies with the 
 greatest force to an agricultural country, that whatever may be the quality 
 of the soil, or the extent of its population ; no matter what the natural pro- 
 ducts may be, without a facility of intercourse for persons, and of interchange 
 for produce they avail nothing. They are but the gold inthe mine. We 
 need go into no refinements of political economy. We need search for no 
 hidden courses of pauperism or turbulence, but, finding a region with a 
 dense unemployed population, wanting the facilities of interchange for its 
 labor; we may conclude that such a district cannot make any progress in 
 industry or capital, or even in civilization. On the contrary, its evils wiil 
 increase, the population remain confined to the lowest description of suste- 
 nance :—ignorant, easily excited, without industry or emulation, and degraded 
 tu the lowest scale of civilized beings. 
 
 In England, we find no part south of Durham, more than fifteen miles frem 
 water -conveyance. Over three-fourths of the surface, no part is distant from 
 water-carriage more than ten miles; while over one-half of that surface, no 
 part is more than five miles distant from this great means of commercial 
 and trading life. The great manufacturing districts having it in the heart of 
 their towns, and almost at their very doors. 
 
 Compare this with Ireland. Entire districts of twenty to thirty miles in 
 extent, and covered with a dense population, almost without a road, yet, at 
 the serious loss of time and labour, bringing their produce over by-ways, 
 bogs, and mountains, upon horses’ backs, to raise a comparatively heavy 
 rent, the fruit of which is, but a miserable hovel and a potato diet. 
 
 As to internal intercourse in Ireland; besides the Barrow, the Suir, the 
 
14 
 
 Your Lordship will now ask, what more is required? You 
 will say: Government have done their duty—The two great 
 lines of Railway, with this intermediate Shannon link, have 
 all been liberally aided from the public funds; and time, in 
 connexion with the industry and energy of the population, must 
 do the rest. 
 
 My Lord, consider the following short statement, and I am 
 much deceived if your Lordship will not concur in admitting 
 that one comparatively insignificant but important link is still 
 wanting in the great chain of internal communication, to com- 
 plete this triumph of art, energy, and resources, directed by the 
 wisdom and foresight of government. 
 
 The river Shannon, with its two hundred miles of navigation, 
 as regards the transmission of 
 
 
 
 may be considered complete 
 foreign or home produce, or the purposes of the carrying trade. 
 So far, however, as regards the means of improved personal 
 
 Boyne, and other small navigations; we find one prominent feature, one great 
 leading line of available navigation, the River Shannon, running through the 
 centre ofthe island, and offering the advantage ofa double coast. Yet this 
 first and most imposing feature in Ire:and’s statistics, remairs unproductive as 
 a means of internal communication, one-half of it almost unkuown, and the 
 districts through which it passes for one hundred and fifty British miles 
 above Limerick, deriving no aid from its navigation. 
 Let us compare, in their aggregate, the relative means of internal inter- 
 course in England and Ireland. 
 Miles. 
 In England, there are of canals.: 6... esas) wecioes elem 
 Of navigable riverse¢; .7..30tsea ee Ue 
 
 
 
 Of canals in progress...... iSie ot Le teeae 40) 
 Of railroads made and in progress......... 500 
 4634 
 In Jreldnd, there are of canals'.2. :i4!i whieesalnee Ge eee 
 Of navigable river tas aes aete oe 217 
 — 487 
 
 River Shannon from its source to the sea, unimproved 230 
 ‘The contrast is striking. Could it be expected that the contrast would not 
 be equally striking in the condition of the respective populations of the two 
 cowhizies,”’—C. JV. Williams on Inland Navigation, 1831.” 
 This was the state of things in 1831; it need uot here be stated how 
 enormously the means of transit have been increased in England, and huw little 
 has yet been done in Ireland in this respect. 
 
15 
 
 intercourse—(a sine qua non in the progress of internal 
 domestic trading,) there remains one section still unsupplied 
 with the means either of quick, cheap, or convenient transit. I 
 allude to that section between Limerick and the deep water of 
 Killaloe, where alone steam navigation can begin its upward 
 course. It is with reference to this section and its peculiarities, 
 that I now appeal to your Lordship, and these peculiarities are 
 worthy of especial notice. 
 
 I am not here supposing that this interval of obstruction was 
 overlooked by goverment when planning the great work of the 
 Shannon improvement. By no means. This section of fifteen 
 miles has already received its due measure ot aid and attention. 
 Circumstances however which could not have been anticipated 
 have now given an exceptional character to these few miles out 
 of the two hundred, along which the Shannon extends its sway. 
 
 My Lord, these fifteen miles of river never can be available 
 as a means of quick, cheap, or satisfactory intercourse for 
 travellers or traders, and for the following reasons.— 
 
 Nearly three fourths of the entire fall of the river, from its 
 source to the sea, is thrown, by nature, into this: short reach. 
 The Shannon at Carrick, one hundred and twenty-five miles 
 above Limerick, is one hundred and thirty feet above the tide- 
 way at that city: yet, no less than ninety-eight of those are, as 
 it were, compressed into this short interval, between Limerick 
 and Killaloe. ‘The consequence is, that while on the upper 
 one hundred and ten miles of this river, there are but thirty-two 
 feet of fall, this lower reach of but fifteen miles is encumbered 
 with no less than fourteen locks, averaging seven feet fall to each: 
 
 It would be a great mistake were we to complain of this re- 
 markable anomaly in the levels of this great river so different 
 as they are from almost all others, seeing that it is this very 
 irregularity which nature has interposed, that gives to those one 
 hundred and fifty miles, its nearly level water, and its navigable 
 capability and value. The interposition, however, of these 
 fourteen locks, with their rise of ninety-eight feet, becomes, a 
 barrier to every kind of intercourse, except that of trade in 
 loaded barges. Merchants and traders, travellers and tourists, 
 
16 
 
 require a rapidity and convenience wholly incompatible with 
 the delays and obstructions incident to this portion of the navi- 
 gation. Indirectly then, but extensively, we see how these 
 obstructions, which are as nothing in the way of trade, become 
 so mischievous a drag on the trader or commercial traveller. 
 These are here met at the moment of their departure from 
 Limerick, in pursuit of business or pleasure, with a tedious 
 and costly conveyance, whether they go by land or by water, 
 seeing that the high-road is of an equally difficult character, 
 being, like all roads of old, circuitous and hilly. 
 
 How then is this difficulty to be encountered? By a Rail- 
 way alone. 
 
 In the year 1845, when the continuation of the Great South- 
 Western Railway, was under consideration, the difficulties, 
 delays and expense incident to this portion of the river, was 
 strongly felt—experience having proved it to be the great im- 
 pediment to an extended intercourse, by the Shannon route, 
 then beginning to attract attention. A Railway was conse- 
 quently projected for this important line, forming part of the 
 “Limerick, Ennis, and Killaloe Junction Railway,” for this, 
 an act of parliament was obtained and the necessary deposits 
 paid. The subsequent depression of Railway property, how- 
 ever, unfortunately caused its abandonment, even before a sod 
 was turned. 
 
 Through the want of a Railway from Limerick to Killaloe, 
 the Great Southern Railway now loses the traffic from Clare and 
 Galway, and the Shannon line. While the travelling portion of 
 the public from those districts, on their way to the metropolis, 
 are compelled to pass through the middle districts near Portar- 
 lington, until they reach the Railway. | 
 
 During the late severe pressure in 1846-7 and in this very 
 district, and with the view of giving employment to the popu- 
 lation, the providing a more level and shorter road between 
 Limerick and Killaloe was in part undertaken under the act for 
 the relief of the poor. Like many other works, from the stop- 
 page of the funds provided under that act, the construction of 
 this road was also abandoned. 
 
\7 
 
 The want of this connecting link, then, works a serious injury 
 to all interests. It severs the great chain of personal traffic 
 and profitable intercourse between the north andthe south. It 
 breaks the only connexion that ever can exist, and for which no 
 substitute except a railway can be provided, between the two 
 great railway lines of the west, at Limerick and Athlone, and 
 to the injury of both ; and should the town and port of Galway 
 hereafter be adopted as a transatlantic mail packet station, 
 the delays arising out of this improved section of the Shan- 
 non must be greatly aggravated. In truth, the navigation 
 of the Shannon, completed at so great an expense, and every 
 way so worthy of national support, remains, as regards personal 
 intercourse, shut out from Limerick and the south, and be- 
 comes, comparatively, asa sealed book. Yet, this short interval 
 between Limerick and Killaloe should be considered, as it 
 virtually is, but a portion of the great Shannon line, and 
 means provided for the easy and cheap conveyance of people, 
 as has already been done for that of merchandize and 
 produce. - | 
 
 Of the necessity and eligibility, then, of a railway over this 
 short distance, there can be no question, the difficulty lies, 
 without the aid of Government, in providing the necessary 
 funds. <A single line of the cheapest construction, and suited 
 to the conveyance of passengers alone, is all that is required. 
 Although the distance by water, or by the present high and 
 hilly road is fifteen miles; that by the railroad would be less 
 than twelve. There are no hills to be cut through—no embank- 
 ments to be made—and not.a bridge requiring masonry. I am 
 also prepared to prove that this short line, requiring but a mo- 
 derate sum for its construction would be a profitable and « paying 
 line. 
 
 My Lord, it is not for me on the present occasion to suggest 
 any particular course of proceeding, or to go into d-tail, to- 
 wards effecting the important object to which I have taken the 
 liberty of drawing your attention. In concert with the Shannon 
 Commissioners and the Board of Works, with the concurrence of 
 
 Her Majesty’s Government, and with your Lordship’s powerful 
 
18 
 
 advocacy, there will be no difficulty in effecting this useful and 
 necessary work. 
 
 I conclude by directing your Lordship’s attention to the fol- 
 lowing appropriate resolution, agreed to by the grand juries of 
 several of the Shannon counties, so long back as the year 1794, 
 and I now congratulate your Lordship on being the viceroy 
 under whose rule these important objects, after a struggle of 
 half-a-century, will, at length, be brought to a satisfactory con- 
 clusion. This resolution was as follows, viz :— 
 
 At the Shannon assizes of 1794, the High Sheriffs, and Grand 
 Juries of the counties of Roscommon, Leitrim, Mayo, Galway, 
 Clare, Limerick, King’s county, and Tipperary, resolved, “ that 
 the completing the navigation of the river Shannon and 
 the great rivers adjoining thereto, from Lough Allen to Lim- 
 erick, will lead effectually to improve and open the home and 
 foreign markets, to the produce of more than two millions of 
 acres of land in the heart of the kingdom of Ireland; and that the 
 execution of this great navigation will effectually advance the 
 commerce, manufactures and agriculture of this kingdom, and 
 the strength of the empire at large.” 
 
 I have the honor to remain, 
 
 Your Lordship’s obedient servant, 
 
 CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS. 
 
I.—Eetracts from Major General John Fox Burgoyne’s 
 Report to Government on the State of the Shannon 
 Navigation. 
 
 Il.— Extracts from the Reports to the Board of Public Works 
 on the River Shannon, by Thomas Rhodes, CLE. 
 
 Il.—E£xtracts from “ A Journey throughout Ireland, during 
 the Spring, Summer, and Autumn of 1834, by H. D. 
 Inglis.” 
 
 IV.—EKxtracts from a Tract on Irish Inland Navigation, by 
 C. W. Williams, 1831. 
 

 
 } THERE Is SY 
 7 NOTHING LIKE Yep 
 CONSTANCY 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX. (No.1) 
 
 Eutracts from Major General Burgoyne’s Report to Govern- 
 t) Soy P 
 
 ment on the state of the Shannon navigation. 
 
 Tue river Shannon, rising within fifteen miles of Sligo, in 
 the north of Ireland, and falling into the sea below Limerick, 
 in the south, cuts the country longitudinally in two parts ; 
 dividing the five counties comprising the Province of Con- 
 naught from the rest of the kingdom. It thus forms a feature 
 of the greatest importance, as the means of drawing off the 
 waters from an immense range of country—of maintaining in- 
 ternal intercourse—and, on account of its outlets, with the sea 
 to Limerick on the south-west; and by means of two great 
 canals leading from different parts of its waters to Dublin, on 
 the east coast. 
 
 The attention of Government having been called to tbe im- 
 perfections existing in this great river, and to the propriety of 
 ascertaining its present state, and its capabilities ; a Commis- 
 sion was appointed for that purpose, consisting of Captain 
 Mudge, R. N.; Thomas Rhodes, Esq., Civil Engineer, and 
 myself. Our preliminary arrangements have been explained in 
 the first set of Reports, and the Government are now put in 
 possession of the final result of the investigation. 
 
 The Shannon requires to be considered in several distinct 
 portions, which vary in character, and are influenced by very 
 different circumstances. 
 
 The interval from the sea to the port of Limerick, a distance 
 of eighty miles, has been minutely described in the Reports of 
 Captain Mudge, who points out the numerous difficulties and 
 dangers, as well as the neglected state of this part of the navi- 
 gation. 
 
 It appears, however, that there are not any funds allotted to 
 this very necessary object, nor even any one entrusted with 
 the smallest charge or authority ; in consequence of which 
 neglect, the port of Limerick, which ought to be the rallying 
 point of a very extensive trade, struggles against impediments 
 that must continue to draw from it many of its natural re- 
 
 sources. 
 
22 
 
 At Limerick, shallows and rapids commence so immediately, 
 that the tide has but little influence above; and it has become 
 necessary to have recourse to the means of a short canal from 
 the city itself. 
 
 Ascending from thence to Killaloe, (a distance of fifteen 
 miles) the navigation, partly by river and partly by the side 
 canals, is in the hands of the Limerick Navigation Company. 
 
 From Killaloe commences the great lake called Lough Derg, 
 twenty-three miles in length, and from one to four miles broad, 
 with wide deep bays and inlets. 
 
 This lake is, generally speaking, free from the dangers of 
 rocks or shoals, but its very expanse of water rendered it unfit 
 for the class of vessels that worked upon the still water and 
 imperfect navigation at either end ; and considerable delay was 
 occasioned to the sailing vessels, by the circumstance of the 
 prevailing winds being in the direction of its great length. 
 
 The Middle Shannon, that is, the interval between Lough 
 Derg and Lough Ree, comprises thirty-six miles of generally 
 broad deep river, with occasional shoals and obstructions, natural 
 or artificial, which are passed by lateral canals. Nearly mid- 
 way between the extremities of this portion of the Shannon, the 
 Grand Canal branches off on one side to Dublin, eighty miles 
 distant, and on the other, thirteen miles to Ballinasloe, in the 
 County of Galway. 
 
 Lough Ree is seventeen miles in length, and bears nearly the 
 same character as Lough Derg, with the exception that its prin- 
 cipal line of sailing course is somewhat more obstructed by 
 rocky shoals. 
 
 In the Upper Shannon, namely, from Lough Ree to Lough 
 Allen (forty-3ix miles) the shoals are more frequent and exten- 
 sive than in the lower portions, though still the small lakes and 
 river afford very generally a deep wide canal. 
 
 Many lateral canals and other works have been executed at 
 different periods by Government, to open the navigation of 
 this part; they are, however, extremely imperfect and defec- 
 tive, as will be seen by one of the accompanying Reports which 
 explains in detail the great impediments existing in this upper 
 district. ; 
 
 From the above sketch it will be perceived how very imper- 
 fect is the state of the whole navigation of the Shannon. 
 
 It is indeed surprising to find so noble a river running 
 through so fine a country in such a state of neglect. ‘The soil 
 on its banks is of the most fertile nature ; iron, marble, slate, 
 and various other productions of superior quality are also to be 
 found in abundance. Though great capabilities exist for easy 
 intercourse, a perfect stagnation unhappily prevails, and where 
 forests of masts and the bustling activity of commerce should be 
 witnessed, the scene is desolate, and only varied occasionally by 
 
23 
 
 the passage of some struggling boat, which, with difficulty, and 
 perhaps with only half a cargo, is striving to make its way to 
 one of the Dublin canals. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no part of the British dominions, where 
 such an opening is presented for prospective advantages. 
 
 
 
 APPENDIX. (No. II.) 
 
 Extracts from Mr. Rhodes’ Reports to the Board of Public 
 
 Works, on the navigation of the river Shannon. 
 
 From Limerick to Killaloe, and from thence to Lough Allen, 
 the river Shannon presents a diversified and magnificent cha- 
 racter, interspersed by numerous fine lakes and broad waters ; 
 it is in many parts surrounded by scenery of a beautiful des- 
 cription, and the whole forms a navigable line of communica- 
 tion (at present in uw very imperfect state) of one hundred and 
 forty-three statute miles, (above Limerick,) running in a north 
 and south direction. 
 
 Description of the Shannon.—Taking a view of this majestic 
 river, its lakes and lateral branches which receive the drainage 
 of a considerable portion of Ireland, they also appear as if 
 formed and designed by nature as the great arteries of the 
 kingdom for facilitating its agricultural and commercial pur- 
 poses; by making out a splendid line of intercourse for an ex- 
 peditious and cheap mode of conveyance through a populous 
 country, superior to any in the empire ; and requiring only a 
 little assistance from art to render it beneficially useful to an 
 unlimited extent ; but, her grand designs have hitherto been in 
 a great measure frustrated, and it may not improperly be com- 
 pared to a “ sealed book.” 
 
 Obstructions.—These are caused by a few natural, but the 
 greater part are artificial obstructions, which dam up the water, 
 and inundate the country to a formidable extent. 
 
 Advantages of removing the obstructions.—Looking to the 
 great extent to which this country is inundated, and for the 
 greater portion of the year, it appears astonishing that it should 
 have been allowed to remain so long in this state, when its 
 baneful influence to the cultivation of the lands, reclaiming the 
 
24 
 
 bogs, and the salubrity of the country, are considered ; offering, 
 as it does, a wide field for improvement, which, if commenced 
 and prosecuted, would give permanent relief and useful employ- 
 ment to thousands of its inhabitants, (in various pursuits) now 
 in a state absolutely wanting the necessaries of life, and driven 
 to desperation. 
 
 On the great line in the vicinity the climate is naturally very 
 humid, which is, no doubt, in a measure caused by the sluggish 
 nature of the river. 
 
 Transit of produce.—<At the present time the produce ex- 
 ported and imported to and from the countries of Leitrim, Ros- 
 common, Mayo, and part of Sligo, are carried to and from the 
 shipping ports on the north-west coast, or to Longford or 
 Killashee, on the Royal Canal, a distance more or less than 
 thirty miles, by land carriage, along roads of an inferior des- 
 cription, with vehicles of equally bad construction. ‘This fre- 
 quently occupies a man, horse and cart, with from 16 to 20 ewt. 
 two days and a half, bringing for back carriage general 
 merchandize, timber, iron, and slate for building. 
 
 The towns upon the line of the Shannon appear to be well 
 situated for commanding the trade of the surrounding country, 
 but, hitherto, the inefficient state of the river has been a con- 
 siderable check to their prosperity, deriving little or no benefit 
 from this source in the transit of the various goods and 
 merchandize, although many of them are so remotely situated 
 from sea-ports. 
 
 Importance of the Shannon Navigation.—By adopting the 
 proposed improvements, and rendering the Shannon perma- 
 nently navigable, it would open a great thoroughfure and line 
 of intercourse from the two extremities of the kingdom ; thus 
 bringing those parts hitherto separated by great distances, into 
 close and constant communication, which would be the case by 
 applying the great auxiliary of steam power, as the passage of 
 the whole line might be performed in one day, now frequently 
 occupying a month, or six weeks ; thus rendering the transit 
 of goods certain and cheap. Here may be seen the great 
 advantage that would accrue to the agriculturist, grazier, 
 merchant, and general trader, as they would then have an easy, 
 punctual, and cheap conveyance for their several commodities 
 and produce, and to the farmer in particular, giving him the 
 opportunity of consulting the various markets along the line, 
 that he might be able to obtain a fair value for his produce, 
 while, at present, he is generally confined by the expense of 
 land-carriage to the nearest market, and even this, in many 
 cases, at a great distance, and his profits, if any, are consumed 
 by the mode of transit. 
 
 The opening of the Shannon will be the certain means of 
 physical improvement to the people along its banks and in its 
 
25 
 
 vicinity, and to the country at large ; and is deserving the most 
 serious consideration of the legislature; as the establishing of 
 lines of intercourse, and promoting habits of industry among 
 the people, would be the most effectual means of dissipating the 
 present feelings of discontent, and of preventing the recurrence 
 of those lawless acts which are so much to be regretted through- 
 out this part of the country. But it isa work of too much 
 magnitude, under all the circumstances, to be attempted by any 
 individual interest, and I am of opinion that no great and really 
 permanent system of improvement must be looked for upon the 
 general line of the Shannon, but through the intervention of 
 legislative enactment and superintendence. 
 
 APPENDIX. (No. Il ) 
 Extract from “ Ireland in 1834.” By H. D. Inglis. 
 
 It impossible to ascend by water from Limerick to the 
 village of Castle Connell, owing to the rapids which intervene ; 
 but the road, although not running close to the river, commands 
 its banks, it carries the traveller through as lovely a country as 
 the imagination can well picture. In variety and woody fertility 
 it is not surpassed by the most celebrated of the English vales, 
 none of which can boast, as an adjunct to its scenery, so noble 
 a river as the Shannon. 
 
 To the lover of the picturesque, the banks of the Shannon 
 between Portumna and Banagher present little that is attrac- 
 tive. But to other minds there may be an interest of perhaps a 
 higher kind. We are navigating in a steam vessel a river—here 
 a hundred and thirty miles from the sea, and we know it to be 
 navigable nearly a hundred miles higher. Its volume appears 
 to be as great as when we saw it at Limerick :— it is several 
 hundred yards broad, and twenty and thirty feet deep. What 
 a body of water is this? What are the Thames, the Medway, 
 the Severn, the Trent, the Humber, the Tweed, or the Clyde, a 
 hundred and thirty miles from the sea ? I am not sure if they 
 exist at all, or if any of them do, they are but brawling streams 
 for the minnow to sport in. There is, in fact, an approach to 
 
 the sublime in the spectacle of such a river as this; and the 
 D 
 
26 
 
 feeling receives aid from the character of its banks. These are 
 wide and apparently interminable plains—uninclosed, almost 
 level with the river, bearing luxuriant crops of herbage, and 
 feeding innumerable herds. We see scarcely any habitations,. 
 no villages or hamlets, and no road or traffic on the banks. 
 The meadows of which I speak extend, on both sides of the 
 river, the greater part of its course from Banagher to Portumna. 
 These meadows are all overflowed during the winter, and are 
 let for grazing at a very high rent. Killaloe I found an im- 
 proving town. This improvement arises from several causes, 
 but chiefly is owing to the spirited proceedings of the Inland 
 Steam Navigation Company :—a company whose objects are 
 most closely connected with the improvement of Ireland. The 
 improvement of the navigation of the Shannon and its tribu- 
 taries is deserving of the especial protection and aid of Go- 
 vernment. 
 
 The bridge (over the Shannon at Athlone) is altogether a 
 disgrace to the town and kingdom. Notwithstanding that 
 between Athlone and Portumna the Shannon receives the two 
 Brusna rivers, the Suck, and many other smaller tributaries, 
 it appears at Athlone to carry an undiminished volume of water. 
 Above Athlone bridge—upwards of one hundred and fifty miles 
 from the sea—the river is 300 yards wide, and ranges from 20 
 to 35 feet in depth. 
 
 Athlone is a great military station—Extensive barracks, 
 both for foot regiments and for artillery, lie in its immediate 
 neighbourhood ; and on the Connaught side, a line of fortifica- 
 tions has been erected. In the very centre of the town, too, 
 there is an ancient castle, with a strong central tower and mas- 
 sive bastions. All these places are fully garrisoned. 
 
 I now left Boyle for Enniskillen. For several miles after 
 leaving Boyle, the road skirts Lord Lorton’s domain, and then 
 passes through a rather fine country, to Carrick-on Shannon. 
 Here I again found that majestic river, which I had parted 
 from a month before; and I still found it the same noble 
 stream. ‘The Shannon, at Carrick, is upwards of two hundred 
 miles from the sea ; and I scarcely could discover any diminution 
 of the stream, which flows a hundred miles lower down. 
 
 I have now seen the banks of the Shannon from its mouth 
 to its source ; and I think I may venture to say that, although 
 we cannot find on the banks of the Shannon that precipitous 
 wood scenery which distinguishes the Rhine, nor the richness 
 and softness which lie along the Loire or the Garonne, in- 
 finitely greater variety is found throughout the course of the 
 Shannon than is presented either on these, or any other rivers, 
 that I recollect.—And the Shannon possesses one attribute, 
 which, as far as I know, is exclusively its own.—It is navi- 
 gable, (with some slight interruptions) from its mouth to its 
 
27 
 
 source, a distance of two hundred and thirty-four miles. In 
 the extent of its navigation, therefore, though not of its course, 
 it ranks with many of the great continental rivers. 
 
 APPENDIX. (No. IV.) 
 
 E.xctracts from a Tract on Irish Inland Navigation, by 
 Charles Wye Williams, E'sq., 1831. 
 
 The river Shannon, unequalled in the British empire, em- 
 braces two hundred and forty-seven miles of continuous naviga- 
 tion, (while its tributaries afford that of above one hundred 
 miles in addition), and from the circumstances of its running 
 through the centre of the kingdom, may be compared, for the 
 purposes of intercourse, to double that length of coast. The 
 advantages of water conveyance are thus presented to an extent 
 of country equal to the whole line of coast between Belfast and 
 Cork, or to more than the entire eastern coast of England. 
 The Shannon washes the shores of ten counties out of thirty- 
 two. All of these are abundant in population, and susceptible 
 of great agricultural improvement; and although many of 
 them are periodically exposed to the greatest distress and even 
 famine, yet are without the power of mutual relief or co-opera- 
 tion. 
 
 Taking then the double length of coast which the ten counties 
 presents to the navigation, at five hundred miles, and which, con- 
 sidering the extent of the bays, inlets, and rivers, is under the 
 fact, it leaves an average (on the main stream of the river) of 
 fifty miles of coast to each county. This fact alone is sufficiently 
 indicative of what may be done through the instrumentality of 
 this one river. 
 
 Nature appears to have done its part. The capabilities of the 
 river almost provoke the population to industry and inter- 
 course. All the elements of internal and profitable traffic are 
 in abundance. It cannot, therefore, be necessary to urge more 
 strongly than by the bare enumeration of these facts, the value 
 of an intercourse, which, from some cause or other, Ireland has 
 never yet possessed. How then can we convey to English eyes 
 the picture of the Shannon through its great course. Let us 
 
23 
 
 suppose a navigable river taking its rise in some distant county 
 in England, as far from Liverpool as Essex or Middlesex. 
 Suppose it occasionally spreading itself into noble and pic- 
 turesque sheets of water of twenty miles in length, with 
 numerous islands, receiving the waters of many rivers, and 
 stretching its bays into the adjacent counties, as it were to 
 increase the measure of its utility and beauty. Imagine it 
 winding its way through Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, 
 Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, and the rich soil of 
 Leicestershire ; and after passing by Staffordshire, Derbyshire, 
 and Cheshire, and running a course of two hundred and forty 
 miles, falling into the estuary of the Mersey in Lancashire. See 
 it presenting to each of those counties the benefit of fifty miles 
 of navigation, and we shall have a correct idea of the extent and 
 capabilities of this river. 
 
 But how shall we describe the state in which it has remained 
 for ages as to trading intercourse ; and in which three-fourths 
 of it remain to this very hour :—absolutely wanting in all the 
 incidents of navigation. For nearly one hundred miles of its 
 length, not a sail or boat to be met with on its waters—no 
 appearance of utility—no indications of industry or capital; 
 even its beauties unknown—deficient to an extent scarcely 
 credible in roads and approaches to it, and consequently having 
 but little connexion with the interior to which nature designed 
 its influence should extend: without any employment of its 
 waters, it flows unheeded by, and unproductive of any good. 
 Over many of its districts of great extent, from the absence of 
 that control which human skill and means could have effected, 
 its waters become a source of wide-spreading waste. 
 
 The inevitable result of this neglect and inactivity is, that 
 instead of becoming the direct means of connexion and inter- 
 course between this family of counties situated on its banks, and 
 of the consolidation of the interests of their respective popula- 
 tion, it has, on the contrary, grown up, and remains to the 
 present a positive and mischievous line of separation: the 
 enemy, rather than the ally of social life. Instead of proving 
 the parent of family and trading alliances, it has engendered 
 nothing but a repulsive spirit, productive of enmity, district 
 broils, and almost civil war. 
 
 So effectually has this alienation been accomplished through 
 the succession of ages, and this fourth part of Ireland been 
 - detached by the Shannon, that it became not merely distinct as 
 a province, but as a little kingdom in itself; proverbially the 
 country of a people sui generis ; wild, lawless, and turbulent. 
 
 “The kingdom of Connaught,” to this hour, is a sort of title 
 to. which its inhabitants lay claim on the very plea of that 
 separation, for which the Shaunon, in their eyes, appeared to 
 have been destined. A little consideration on the part of the 
 
29 
 
 the rulers of the land -should have taught them to regard it as 
 designed by a bountiful Providence to be rather a bond. of 
 union, the high road of the neighbouring counties, and a source 
 of mutual dependence, strength, protection, and prosperity. Do 
 we not see in all this the primary cause of that absence of em- 
 ployment at home, which drives such hordes to England in 
 search of labor? This very ‘“Aingdom,” sending out the entire 
 of that peasantry which migrates annually to England (after a 
 fatiguing journey of one hundred miles by Dublin) and to the 
 midland districts of Ireland, where they go to assist in gather- 
 ing-in the potato harvest, to the number of many thousands. 
 
 Need we go further in explaining the cause of the want of 
 approaches to the river; of bridges to connect the neighbour- 
 ing counties; of improved intercourse on its waters; or the 
 incidents of trade upon its banks. 
 
 Roads, and even mail-coach roads, in many situations, run 
 within a few miles of it, yet the river itself remains inaccessible 
 from them. 
 
 Mr. Nimmo, in his evidence before the Lords’ Committee, in 
 1824, observes—“ It is remarkable, that, upon the western 
 “ coast of the broad part of the Shannon, we have not a single 
 “ landing-place. ‘This complaint was made to me last season ; 
 “ and, upon examination, [ found it was a most desirable thing 
 “to make provision for landing-places on both sides of the 
 “river. He have no quays or roads to the water at any part of 
 “ the Shannon, exceptat the bridges.” 
 
 Is it possible to read this statement and be surprised at the 
 population being in want of employment and disturbed ? 
 
 Under such circumstances, how can the labor of these dis- 
 tricts leave any return to the farmer? How can he be induced 
 to employ the now idle hands upon his land? There is, in fact, 
 no inducement to turn the available surplus labor to account, 
 and it is now dissipated in the destruction of property, the turn- 
 ing up” the lands of peaceable proprietors without ostensible 
 motive, and merely because the want of employment creates 
 dissatisfaction, and turns every circumstance into a grievance. 
 This, too, where, if the farmer had sufficient inducement to 
 expend more labor upon his land, not an idle hand would be 
 foun i in the country, which is invariably but half labored and 
 half productive. 
 
 To remedy this evil, we must go back to the first cause: the 
 want of means to bring labor and the fruit of labor to market, 
 and thus enable it to find its value. 
 
 On the entire five hundred miles of coast of the Shannon 
 there was not twelve months back a single crane; an article 
 which, in England, is as common as a waggon, or an anchor. 
 
 It is a melancholy fact, that the towns and districts of Ireland, 
 with the names of which the public ear has been familiarised 
 
30 
 
 lately as the scenes of outrage or distress, are, almost without 
 exception, those which are directly connected with the subject 
 before us; and that those names mark at once the line of 
 disturbance, and the line of the Shannon. 
 
 Let then this river be regarded in its great features—bisecting 
 the island, and running with unprofitable splendour in its course 
 of two hundred and forty miles through the heart of the country, 
 with a dense population within reach of its ameliorating influ- 
 ence :—a population young in civilization and social habits ; 
 ignorant, uneducated, unemployed, and dissatisfied. 
 
 Let it then be asked, is it consistent with common sense to 
 doubt the effect of interchange and intercourse on such a popu- 
 lation? Is it reasonable to suppose, that such a river, were its 
 resources developed, could fail of giving value to the labor of 
 the population, and of turning the weakness, the divisions, and 
 the wants of the population inte strength, unity, and prosperity ? 
 
 So 
 

 
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REPORT 
 
 PA ESD ERECT ORS 
 
 TO 
 
 THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN 
 STEAM PACKET COMPANY. 
 
 15 Eden-quay, Dublin, 
 October 25th, 1850. 
 
 Tue Directors in making their forty-fifth half-yearly 
 Report to the Proprietors, regret having to communicate 
 that the opposition which commenced last November, has 
 since been persevered in without any relaxation. 
 
 In July last, the steamer Minerva, belonging to the 
 Cork Company, was advertised to ply in opposition to this 
 Company, on the line between Kingstown and Liverpool, 
 at one half the usual passenger fares. The Directors did 
 not hesitate, at once, to make a corresponding reduction 
 on the evenings when the Minerva sailed, and they. had 
 the satisfaction to find that such was the confidence of the 
 public, and the desire to support the vessels of this Com- 
 pany, that by far the larger proportion of the passengers 
 travelled by them. 
 
 The Directors, after some weeks’ experience, felt also 
 warranted in reducing the fares on the alternate, or unop- 
 posed days—a measure which was favorably received by 
 the public, inasmuch as it promoted the convenience of 
 passengers by preventing the crowding of the vessels on the 
 opposition nights. : | 
 
 The. Minerva was continued on the line until early in 
 the present month, when she ceased to ply between Kings- 
 town and Liverpool. 
 
“11th September, 1850. 
 
 ‘Mr. Codd suggested as a possible means of effecting a 
 settlement of the steam companies’ contest, the following 
 plan :— 
 
 “The Waterford Company, the -Cork Company, and 
 Messrs. Malcomson, to unite in appointing as their repre- 
 sentative Mr. George Pim. 
 
 ‘The British and Irish Company, and the City of 
 Dublin Company, to unite in appointing as their represen- 
 tative Mr. Thomas Wilson. 
 
 ‘Hach of these gentlemen to be fully instructed by his 
 constituents, and then to meet and endeavour to arrive at 
 a satisfactory conclusion. 
 
 “This suggestion was acceded to by all the contending 
 parties. 
 
 ‘Mr. Pim agreed to act for the country parties; but 
 Mr. Wilson, being reluctant to act for those in Dublin, 
 unless in the presence of other parties, suggested that Mr. 
 Arthur Guinness, Mr. Thomas Crosthwait, and Mr. Codd 
 should be present at the conference, and should participate 
 in the effort to effect a settlement. 
 
 “The contending parties all agreed to this proposition, 
 it being distinctly understood, that the conference is to be 
 considered as strictly confidential, and that if it prove un- 
 successful, what may occur shall not be binding on any 
 party, or be in any way alluded to by them.” 
 
 The Directors have to express their regret, that this 
 renewed effort to put an end to the opposition by the in- 
 tervention of such influential parties, was equally ineffectual 
 as the preceding. They repeat, however, that they are, 
 as they ever have been, willing to leave the entire conduct 
 and proceedings of this Company in reference to the pre- 
 sent contest, unconditionally to the arbitration of com- 
 petent and disinterested parties. 
 
D 
 
 All efforts to arbitrate, and all attempts at mediation, 
 having thus proved fruitless, no alternative remained for 
 the Directors, but a perseverance in those measures of 
 self-defence which they had been forced to adopt. 
 
 In pursuance of such measures, arrangements had early 
 been made, and all classes of expenditure reduced, having 
 due regard to the continued efficiency of the establishment, 
 and the maintenance of the Company’s vessels. And the 
 Directors have much satisfaction in stating, that without a 
 single exception, these reductions have been submitted to 
 with the utmost cheerfulness, and that: even increased 
 diligence and zeal have been manifested by all in the 
 service, in carrying on the business, and promoting the 
 interests of the company. 
 
 That these arrangements have been successful is proved 
 by the fact, that notwithstanding the low rates introduced 
 and charged by the opposition vessels, the Directors have 
 been enabled to provide for all the engagements, necessary 
 disbursements, and working expenses of the establishment, 
 and for the most efficient maintenance of the Company’s 
 floating property, leaving a deficiency of only £588. 14s. 9d, 
 on the half-year’s trading. 
 
 The Proprietors will not fail to observe, as it suffici- 
 ently marks the wasteful character of the opposition, that 
 while it has deprived this Company of the usual dividend, 
 it has also continued to deprive the shareholders of the 
 several opposing Companies of any return on their own 
 capital, aud through the instrumentality alone of those who 
 have the conduct and management of their affairs, and in 
 pursuit of objects in which the shareholders of such oppo- 
 sing companies had no interest whatever. 
 
 The causing so large an amount of capital to be thus 
 absolutely unproductive, renders not merely the com- 
 mercial but moral responsibility of the aggressors doubly 
 great. 
 
6 
 
 The amount embarked by this Company, together with 
 the large aggregate capital of the several parties and com- 
 panies involved in this wasteful process, is above one 
 million sterling. 
 
 Thus, there is a large annual amount of what should, 
 and otherwise would have been, a legitimate profit, un- 
 necessarily wasted—literally thrown away. 
 
 This is a state of things of which there neither is, nor 
 ever has been, a parallel. 
 
 If the opposition are desirous of continuing this attack 
 until it becomes a mere question of means and powers of 
 endurance, and if they are in an absolutely independent 
 position as to resources, they may, doubtless, do so for a 
 still longer period. 
 
 Your Directors, however, fortified as they are by the 
 support of their co-proprietors and of the public, are fully 
 prepared for the result, and look forward to it with un- 
 diminished confidence. 
 
 The opposition may continue to waste their own re- 
 sources, but the permanent stability of this Company is 
 beyond the reach of their power or influence. The half- 
 yearly dividends of the Proprietors may, fora time, be sus- 
 pended, but they have the satisfaction of knowing that 
 their capital, together with the powers and efficiency of the 
 Company, will continue unimpaired. 
 
 The contract entered into with the Lords of the Admi- 
 ralty for the conveyance of the two daily mails between 
 Kingstown and Holyhead was commenced on the Ist of 
 May, and has been satisfactorily carried on. When the 
 Directors tendered for this service, they were under the 
 expectation that the Lords of the Admiralty would have 
 lent or chartered two of their packets for some months, 
 during which period they could have made arrangements 
 for providing the necessary additional vessels, without 
 withdrawing any from the Company’s established lines: 
 
ae 
 ‘ 
 
 As this expectation was not realised, the Directors, acting 
 on invitation from the Lords of the Admiralty, entered 
 into negotiation for the purchase of two of their iron steam- 
 packets—the St. Columba and Llewellyn—and which ne- 
 gociations were concluded on satisfactory terms. 
 
 By this arrangement, but one only of the Company’s 
 vessels—the Eblana—has been temporarily withdrawn from 
 her usual line, and which deviation will only be required 
 until the Company’s new vessel, now building in London 
 for the mail service, shall be ready for sea. 
 
 The Directors conclude by submitting the statement of 
 the debts, credits, and effects of the Company on the Ist 
 September last, pursuant to the provisions of the Com- 
 pany’s act of parliament, and they have the satisfaction of 
 referring to it in confirmation of the opinion they have ex- 
 pressed on the present occasion as to the stability and 
 financial independence of the company. 
 
 The following were Mr. Malcomson’s nine conditions :— 
 
 1. “That the purchase of the Senator Screw Com- 
 pany’s share of the Dublin and London line by Malcomson 
 Brothers be acknowledged as valid from the date of their 
 entering on the occupation of it. i 
 
 2. That two parties working a line in conjunction, and 
 dividing receipts, be considered partners as regards that 
 line, and each responsible to the other for any breach 
 of the non-interference principle coramitted on account of 
 such joint interest. 
 
 3. That the placing of the ‘ Devonshire” between 
 Waterford and Liverpool was a breach of the non-inter- 
 ference principle as regards the Waterford Company, and 
 committed on account of the Dublin line, occupied con- 
 jointly by the City of Dublin and British and Irish Com- 
 
 panies. 
 
oe: debe | UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 ll ny 
 
 3 0112 061936453 
 4. That the Waterford Company and “ialconison 
 i be considered distinct parties. : 
 
 . The Waterford Company claim for all dagen to 
 of trade between Waterford and Liverpool from the 
 Devonshire being placed on that line; and they further 
 claim the loss of taking retaliatory proceedings on the 
 Dublin and Liverpool line, and on the Belfast and Liver- 
 
 
 
 pool line. cof 
 
 6. Malcomson Brothers claim for all damages to their 
 trade between Dublin and London since their first oecu- 
 pation; all damages to their trade between Dublin and 
 Waterford and between Waterford and London; as also 
 all damages to their Dutch trade; and they further claim 
 the loss of taking retaliatory proceedings on the Dublin 
 and Liverpool line and the Dublin and Belfast line. 
 
 7. The conditions of this arbitration being to justify 
 Malcomson Brothers’ opposition on the City of Dublin 
 Company’s line, Malcomson Brothers decline to arbitrate 
 any claim for loss to the City of Dublin Company arising 
 out of such opposition. 
 
 8. The conditions of this arbitration being to justify. 
 the Waterford Company's opposition on the City of Dublin 
 Company’s line, the Waterford Company decline to arbi- 
 trate any claim for loss to the City of Dublin Company for 
 such opposition, 
 
 -9. That the respective parties be responsible that 
 their agents do not interfere, directly or indirectly, with 
 the lines occupied by the others.”